# Bitter melon (Momordica charantia)

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/bitter-melon/  
OnCo record `bitter-melon` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Bitter melon is a vegetable used in folk medicine for diabetes and cancer. In a study of women with cervical cancer it had no effect on the immune cells it was meant to boost, and there is no trial showing it treats cancer. Extracts and large amounts of juice have caused heart rhythm problems, stomach ulcers and kidney inflammation in case reports.

## Summary

Bitter melon is eaten across Asia, South America, East Africa and the Caribbean and used medicinally for diabetes, cancer, infections and immune disorders. Memorial Sloan Kettering's About Herbs summary reports anticancer, antiviral and antidiabetic effects in laboratory and animal studies. In people it may lower blood sugar, though meta-analyses call the evidence low quality with sparse safety data; in a study of cervical cancer patients it had no effect on natural killer cell activity. MSK warns that seeds, extracts and large quantities of juice can cause harm, recording atrial fibrillation, acute gastric ulceration needing transfusion, acute interstitial nephritis, and favism from vicine in the seeds. It should be avoided in pregnancy. Bitter melon inhibits P-glycoprotein, which could raise levels and toxicity of vinblastine and paclitaxel, inhibits CYP2C9, and adds to insulin and other diabetes medicines.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: phase-2
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Tags: complementary; supportive-care; evidence:insufficient
- Principle: Charantin, polypeptide-p and momordicosides have insulin-like and cytotoxic effects in laboratory models.
- Strengths: A common food
- Limitations: No effect on immune cells in a cervical cancer study; Serious case reports with extracts and juice; P-glycoprotein and diabetes-drug interactions

## Sources

- MSK About Herbs: Bitter melon (page last updated 22 December 2021): https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/bitter-melon

## Connected records

- technologies: [Black seed (Nigella sativa) and thymoquinone](https://onco.cc/technologies/nigella-sativa-black-seed/), [Dietary supplements during cancer treatment: interactions and harms](https://onco.cc/technologies/dietary-supplements-treatment-interactions/), [Evidence-based integrative oncology](https://onco.cc/technologies/integrative-oncology/), [Moringa (Moringa oleifera)](https://onco.cc/technologies/moringa-oleifera/)
- fronts: [Diet, Exercise & Lifestyle](https://onco.cc/fronts/nutrition-lifestyle/), [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- drugs: [Paclitaxel / nab-paclitaxel](https://onco.cc/drugs/paclitaxel/), [Vinblastine](https://onco.cc/drugs/vinblastine/)
- terms: [Unproven diet claims (alkaline, juice, 'anti-cancer' diets)](https://onco.cc/terms/unproven-diet-claims/)
- bottlenecks: [Misinformation and unproven therapies](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-misinformation/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/bitter-melon.json